Ordino Landowners Demand Shared Costs for Landscape Preservation Amid Urban Planning Clash

Ordino landowners are urging society at large to share the costs of landscape preservation, while the parish's cònsol menor has defended recent urban planning restrictions as serving the majority's interests.

The property owners' group maintains that protecting undeveloped land benefits everyone, yet current rules unfairly burden individuals by slashing buildable areas or reclassifying plots, which erodes land values and economic feasibility. They point out that many such areas have stayed pristine for decades due to owners' choices, aiding Andorra's overall territorial balance without fanfare. Legal certainty remains their top priority amid public debates on Ordino's urban model; they seek consistent, transparent rules rather than expanded development. Abrupt regulatory shifts, they argue, disrupt personal projects, business strategies, and family inheritances. "Changing the rules so drastically can weaken people's ties to the land," the group warns.

Owners reject the idea that landholding signals wealth or speculation, noting that many parcels trace back to family roots, sustained through taxes and maintenance without yielding cash. They also stress Andorra's parish variations—Ordino's strict limits contrast with high-density zones like Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany—questioning uniform national policies, such as rental rules, that ignore these gaps.

In response, Ordino's cònsol menor, Eduard Betriu, has backed the modified Partial Urban Planning Plan (POUP), insisting the complaints reflect a minority view. "There are many owners who agree—a majority," Betriu said, adding that the Comú governs for most residents. He framed the measures as balancing growth with preservation, observing similar changes elsewhere drew less attention. "Other communes have set roof limits per plot without this uproar," he noted, aligning Ordino with broader trends.

Betriu acknowledged potential legal challenges as typical in urban revisions—"Whenever a plan is touched, someone loses or gains"—but emphasised long-term vision. Ordino, a biosphere reserve, must stay linked to its landscape, heritage, livestock, agriculture, and wellbeing, he said. The parish leads on such curbs, he added, though others may follow suit.